Gregory Anderson, dean of DU’s Morgridge College of Education, and the school’s senior policy fellow, Barbara O’Brien, will take part in a nationally televised panel discussion Sunday on “Building Blocks of Success: Grade-Level Reading and Colorado’s Future.”
The panel discussion — to be held at the new History Colorado Center in Denver — is part of the NBC News Education Nation 2012 national tour. The tour, which is kicking off its second year in Denver, is the “nation’s largest public conversation about the relationship between education and economic competitiveness,” according to a press release from NBC News.
“In 2012, Education Nation will continue to build this unprecedented on-air, online and live event platform to engage the public in solutions-focused discussion with the goal of improving education and preparing American students for jobs of the future,” the release says.
DU’s inclusion on the panel shows that the Morgridge College’s emphasis on the importance of early childhood education and early intervention are “touching the right issues and on the right track in terms of contributing to the public agenda,” Anderson says.
Among the topics to be discussed are barriers that keep children from reading at the appropriate grade level by third grade, which is an indicator of later academic success, he says.
Also on the agenda will be a discussion of “bold legislative changes” that have put Colorado on the cusp of some major education reforms, Anderson says.
The Sunday afternoon panel — to be moderated by NBC News Chief Education Correspondent Rehema Ellis — also will include Denver Public Schools Superintendent Tom Boasberg, National Civic League President Gloria Rubio-Cortés and a classroom teacher.
Invited audience members — including Christine Benero, president and CEO of Mile High United Way; Kelly Brough, president and CEO of the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce; and Theresa Peña, executive director of the Denver Education Compact — also will participate in the discussion.
A Teacher Town Hall scheduled for Sunday evening will include a dozen invited Morgridge College students and professors. A number of Morgridge faculty members also have been invited to an April 16 panel discussion with NBC correspondent Andrea Mitchell on the importance of educating Colorado’s students to compete in a global economy.
None of the events are open to the public. The April 15 panel discussion will stream live (from 3:30–4:30 p.m.) on www.EducationNation.com and will air on Channel 20 (KTVD) in Denver from 7–8 p.m. April 19.
The Teacher Town Hall will be broadcast live on Channel 20 (KTVD) from 6––8 p.m. April 15 and will be streamed live at that time on www.EducationNation.com.